More often caught than taught

From 40 Questions About Interpreting the Bible, Robert L. Plummer.

From his chapter discussing the interpretation of historical narrative:

One of the most helpful ways to learn how to interpret historical narrative is to listen to or read numerous examples of judicious interpretation.  The wise interpreter is always seeking the authorial meaning of the text and does not use extraneous details for his own sermonizing flights of fancy.  Such careful interpretative skill is more often caught than taught.  For this reason, it is helpful to read commentaries by skillful interpreters.  By reading such commentaries, one will begin to absorb both the artistic touch and the analytic mind that are essential to careful interpretation.  The beginning interpreter of narratives is also encouraged to find a wiser, more experienced reader who can offer critique and correction.  Such solicited feedback, albeit immediately painful, will in the long run be quite salutary.

Wednesdays in 2012

One of the things that really caused me to think this past year was a comment made by Kathleen Nielson at the Gospel Coalition conference.  She talked about the fact that people don't often read poetry for enjoyment anymore.  Poetry is the use of language in a very specific, difficult way.  I think of all forms of written communication, poetry is the most difficult.  Just try deciphering W.H. Auden, for example.

I decided after hearing the comment that I would like to read more poetry.  I like poetry.  I like it when I know what it's talking about, and that can be work.

One of my favourite classes in university was a class I took called "17th Century Non-Dramatic Literature."  It began with epigrams by men like Ben Jonson, and then led into sacred poetry; John Donne, George Herbert, Thomas Traherne.  I loved it.  Donne and Herbert were my favourites.

This past year I was alerted to the book A Year with George Herbert, by Jim Scott Orrick.  I plan on reading this book over 2012, and posting some of what I learn every Wednesday.  The book is subtitled "A Guide to Fifty-Two of His Best Loved Poems."  One of my favouries, "Redemption," is discussed.  So, this post is fair warning to anyone who finds poetry tedious.  You may want to avoid this little spot on Wednesdays.

Poetry requires a good grasp of language.  A good grasp of language can only help our understanding of all literature, especially the Bible.  In a day and age when written language is being eclipsed by the visual, I think it's pretty valuable to maintain a good command of language.

A Community of Readers

I've been reading the book 40 Questions About Interpreting the Bible, by Robert L. Plummer.  This is a passage from the question "What Are Some General Principles for Interpreting the Bible?":

We live in an individualist age.  Yet God created us to live and worship and grow spiritually together in community.  The author of Hebrews writes, "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching" (Heb 10:25).  Only as we live out our faith in Christ together do we come to understand with depth and clarity what God has done in and through us (Philem. 6).  Similarly, we see that God has structured the church as a body and that every member of that body does not have the same function (Rom. 12:4-5).  Some are more gifted as teachers (Rom. 12:7).  Others are more gifted in showing mercy or serving in some other way (Rom 12:8).  While all God's people are called to read and meditate on his Word (Ps. 119:9, 105), some are specially gifted in explaining that Word and exhorting others to believe and obey it (Eph. 4:11-13).  If we neglect God's grace to us in the gifting of other believers, how impoverished we will be!  Reading the Bible with fellow believers help us to gain insights that we would otherwise miss.  Also, our brothers and sisters can guard us from straying into false interpretation and misapplications.

I guess this principle of there being people better equipped to teach means that a group of women sitting together and arriving at truth by consensus may not be the best approach.  I certainly think discussion is important when we study the bible together, but there does need to be someone who is leading the process, ostensibly someone who is simply better equipped at teaching.  I have been in classes where the leader clearly has no idea what she's talking about, and it's frustrating, to be sure.

Who says commentaries are dry?

In reading about John 13:3-5 in D.A. Carson's commentary, I found this an example that commentaries do not have to be dry, technical things.  While much of Carson's commentary is very technical, there is much that is just a pleasure to read:

We must picture the disciples reclining on thin mats around a low table.  Each is leaning on his arm, usually the left; the feet radiate outward from the table.  Jesus pushes himself up from his own mat.  The details are revealing:  Jesus took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist - thus adopting the dress of a menial slave, dress that was looked own upon in both Jesish and Gentile circles.  Thus he began to wash his disciples' feet, thereby demonstrating his claim, 'I am among you as one who serves' (Lk. 22:27; cf. Mk. 10:45).  the one who was 'in very nature God ... made himself nothing' and took the 'the very nature of a servant' (Phi. 2:6-7).  Indeed, he 'became obedient to death - even death on a cross! (Phil. 2:8).  The matchless self-emptying of the eternal Son, the eternal Word reaches its climax on the cross.  This does not mean that the Word exchanges the form of God for the form of a servant; it means, rather, that he so dons our flesh and goes open-eyed to the cross that his deity is revealed in our flesh, supremely at the moment of greatest weakness, greatest service.

It's not about you

From How to Read the Bible For All Its Worth:

Perhaps the single most useful bit of caution we can give you about reading and learning from narratives is this:  Do not be a monkey-see-monkey-do reader of the Bible.  No Bible narrative was written specifically about you.  The Joseph narrative is about Jospeh, and specifically about how God did things through him - it is not a narrative directly about you.  The Ruth narrative glorifies God's protection of and benefit for Ruth and the Bethlehemites - not you.  You can always learn a grat deal from these narratives, and from all the Bible's narratives, but you can never assume that God expects you to do exactly the same thing that Bible characters did or to have the same things happen to you that happened to them.

That kind of puts a new slant on the "Dare to Be a Daniel" motif.